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Garmisch-Partenkirchen base

All going well, health-wise, I will be holidaying with my 81 year old father in Germany in September (ultimately to visit his sister, this is just our father - daughter time).

We will have 5 nights in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, after a long haul flight from Australia. Rest and recovery in the mountains

I have previously stayed in Mittenwald (3 times) as I love the area. I have enjoyed the walk through Partnachklamm, (not sure I would do that with my Dad, who is vision impaired), the Zugspitze and the Alpspitze.

Am looking for nice walks, he is very fit (he regularly walks 8 km and swims laps twice a week) and fiercely independent. Macular degeneration has affected his sight, though.

Just want him to have a lovely time.

My thoughts so far include

- walk around Eibsee
- walk to Riessersee, then Alpspitzbahn and walk to Kreuzeckbahn
- Eckbauerbahn and walk to Wamberg

I thought the walk to the Partnachklamm then up to the hotel (not sure name of it, uphill from end of gorge) where we lunched, to be absolutely beautiful, forests, water, mountains, - so might just wander the riverside there, too, and use the cablecars to do the hard work.

As long as the paths aren't too rough, he is fine.

Any other suggestions?

(And swandav, if you read this, we'll arrive 10 September, and I owe you dinner for all your Mittenwald tips...so will message you closer to the date)

Well, you've pretty well covered all the walks I usually recommend! There are one or two more that you could consider --

The Kramerplateauweg, which runs parallel to town on the northwestern side, on a ledge of the Kramer mountain. It starts (or ends) at the Werdenfels ruins, runs by the Pflegersee (which has a lovely Gasthof), then runs by the memorial chapel (Kriegergedächtniskapelle), then continues to the Almhütte on Maximilianshöhe. Actually, you can continue walking to Grainau, then take the Eibsee bus back to Garmisch -- or walk back on the Hammersbacher Füssweg. The whole walk would take around 5h. Many folks walk up to the memorial chapel, and then head to the right (to the Pflegersee) or to the left (to the Almhütte & Grainau).

If your dad is game for a bit of altitude gain, you can walk up to the St Martinshütte, which takes about 45 minutes (it's about an hour from my house, and I'm an old and out of shape woman... so you can judge how your father would do). The hut at the end of this trail is at 1040m (Garmisch is about 700m), and it is wonderful, and it fills up. This walk is very much like a busy highway after about 10 am any day, and I am usually the only person huffing & puffing, even among the older walkers! Some of the young folks scramble up the hillsides, eschewing the trail, just to make it interesting. Just walk up to the memorial chapel, and then continue walking up instead of going right or left. Spectacular views.

There is also the Philosophenweg that runs from St Anton's Church in Partenkirchen over to Farchant. It takes about 2h. You can return to Garmisch using the town busses.

I completely forgot to tell you about my very favorite hike!! However, I probably already told you about it for one of your trips to Mittenwald. In that case, just disregard.

The walk is from Krün to Mittenwald and takes about 2h. Take the bus from Garmisch to the bus stop "Bärnbichel," on the outskirts of Krün; it should be at the intersection of Am Bärnbichel and Hochstrasse. Walk down Hochstrasse, go under the overpass, and just continue walking to Mittenwald. The scenery on the walk is stupendous -- wide open fields backed by towering mountains.